Gollywog
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Location: Debussy's brain
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 Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 6:53 am Post subject: Teaching Baseball as Second Language in China |
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Here's a cool article:
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July 5, 2008
Teaching Baseball as Second Language in China
By JULIET MACUR
BEIJING � On a dusty, shoddy baseball field here this spring, Jim Lefebvre, manager of the Chinese national baseball team, gathered his players and demonstrated the Red Sox slugger Manny Ram�rez�s philosophy on hitting.
�If you hit it here,� Lefebvre said, acting as if he were hitting a ball after it passed his body, �you drive a Chevy.�
�If you hit it here,� he said, pretending to hit the ball as it crossed the middle of the plate, �you drive a Cadillac.�
�But if you hit it here,� he said, pretending to connect a smidgen earlier, �you�re in a Rolls-Royce with a chauffeur! Get it? That�s how much money they have. They don�t count it, they weigh it!�
The players, who speak little English, stood by, looking puzzled. Yi Sheng, the third-base coach and unofficial team interpreter, struggled to relay the story.
Yu Lei, a pitcher, giggled and said in Mandarin: �The coach has got a good sense of humor. We all like his gestures. But, no, I can�t say we understand him most of the time.� |
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/sports/olympics/05baseball.html?hp=&pagewanted=all
I found this part especially interesting:
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Chinese officials asked for help with their baseball team five years ago, and since then, Major League Baseball has paid the salaries of Lefebvre and the other American coaches who round out his staff. The league has also subsidized the team�s training trips to the United States since 2003, when Lefebvre became manager of this group.
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Having the humility to ask for help, ask for advice, from another country when you have a problem. What a novel idea! |
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